8' or 4' strip fixtures?

[fflintstone]

Do cheap dual 8’florecent strip fixtures work better than 2 cheap dual 4’ strip fixtures? How are either for light output, lamp life, and overall economy?

 

[Falcon67]

I used 4' over the main work area and over the smaller benches and an 8' over the long bench. I've noted no difference in light or life. I like the 4' in the big space because I can space them out to spread out the light.

 

[GilsGarage]

I recommend you consider a fixture that takes a 4' bulb. It's much easier to manage a 4' bulb than an 8' bulb. That goes for transporting the replacement bulbs, installing them and disposing of them.

 

[GarageEnvy]

I used 8' fixture with 4' bulbs. It was purely out of convenience. The 8' fixture was slightly less money than two 4' fixtures. A little less blocking to cut and nail between the trusses. A few less wires to worry about and half the ballasts (not a major consideration). I had 17 (actually need 1 more) to wire up so the thought of not doing 36 was pretty appealing. Rows are 9' apart and spaced 16" to 24" off the walls and 32" between fixtures. The light is fine.

 

[fflintstone]

I used 8' fixture with 4' bulbs. It was purely out of convenience. The 8' fixture was slightly less money than two 4' fixtures. A little less blocking to cut and nail between the trusses. A few less wires to worry about and half the ballasts (not a major consideration). I had 17 (actually need 1 more) to wire up so the thought of not doing 36 was pretty appealing. Rows are 9' apart and spaced 16" to 24" off the walls and 32" between fixtures. The light is fine.

I was thinking the 8' strips would be less work to wire and hang, but the cheap ( $9) 4' strips have plugs so if you wire one duplex outlet (for two strips) it is about the same as hard wiring one 8' strip. the cheapest I have seen new 8' fixtures is $35
I have to light a 32' X 48' barn that currently has 4 bulbs for the whole thing.
I have 7 cheap 4' strips currently to use, but the rest has to be bought and I am unemployed.

 

[GarageEnvy]

I hear ya with the budget as my career went to hell in a hand basket mid-garage build. I can only say that in my old garage (standard 22'x20) I struggled to work under 3 or 4 of those $5 fixtures. Even in my mild climate they'd flicker and were tempermental in weather as warm as 55 degrees. Admittedly I am particular about lighting so it bugged me more than others IZ suspect. My fixtures were $89 each and the nearly $2,000 really stung but in the long run I think it is worth it. The cost was particularly higher due to the diffusers. I think living without those would be an easy compromise and I believe there were some 8' 4 bulb Lithonia light fixtures at Home Depot for $29.

 

[fflintstone]

I have found that there are 4 habitat restores within an hour drive. typicaly they are way overpriced for used ****, but maybe I will find some bargains.
If I still lived in metro detroit I would use Craigslist but out here its kinda useless.(much less stuff, further drive, and often much higher priced than in the city)

 

[thdewey]

I used 8' fixture with 4' bulbs. It was purely out of convenience. The 8' fixture was slightly less money than two 4' fixtures. A little less blocking to cut and nail between the trusses. A few less wires to worry about and half the ballasts (not a major consideration). I had 17 (actually need 1 more) to wire up so the thought of not doing 36 was pretty appealing. Rows are 9' apart and spaced 16" to 24" off the walls and 32" between fixtures. The light is fine.

I'll second this. I have 8' bulbs in my old shed and I've broken those crazy long bulbs twice! There was no way in hell I was going to use those damn things in my new garage. Don't do it!!

I used 8' fixtures with four 4' bulbs. Nine sets arranged on two circuits. One of which has three fixtures in the back of the shop on a three way switch. I have great light. Perfect for all kinds of work. I still need some more light thrown on my back work bench. Here is a picture from early on in the build.

 

[Gwhizman]

4 ft just fit the cross support in the peek of the roof I also used them as bechtop lighting. One common bulb is best in my book

 

[knobby]

I recommend you consider a fixture that takes a 4' bulb. It's much easier to manage a 4' bulb than an 8' bulb. That goes for transporting the replacement bulbs, installing them and disposing of them.

Agree 100% as well as the 4' lamps are often on sale vs the 8' never seem to be nearly as discounted. If I was starting from scratch I would look at T5 fixtures as they are the brightest and most energy efficient common florescent out there at the moment.

 

[fflintstone]

Agree 100% as well as the 4' lamps are often on sale vs the 8' never seem to be nearly as discounted. If I was starting from scratch I would look at T5 fixtures as they are the brightest and most energy efficient common florescent out there at the moment.

It seems that everyone thinks I should go with 4’ fixtures. I cannot argue any of the points other than the breakage issue, since I have only broken one lamp in my life.
In just doing some quick research before posting it seems that the jury is out on the T8 VS T5 fixtures. Due to the cost of the fixtures and the cost of the lamps (a lighting engineer told me once ”there lamps not bulbs”), the minimal operating savings are not worth the 50-200% price premium.

 

[spongerich]

I'm assuming you own a truck? If not, I wouldn't even consider the 8 footers. They'll be a pain in the *** to transport. I'm lucky in that I have a perfect vehicle for hauling anything like that.

I just put the top down in my Miata and then I can transport stuff that's up to 50 feet long as long as I stay away from any underpasses.

 

[Rich1028]

I used 8' fixtures with four 4' bulbs.

I'm starting to redo the old area in my garage,and this is what I started to do.
done only two so far,ran out of money for the rest

 

[fflintstone]

I'm starting to redo the old area in my garage,and this is what I started to do.
done only two so far,ran out of money for the rest

love the avitar. like most people in michigan I am pretty much broke too.

right now I have 4 screw in light sockets with a mix of CF and halogen lamps
I am thinking of geting some of the 85w CF just to have more light for now.

 

[pdangerp]

At my work, we had the same issue of T5 vs T8 for some lighting replacement. From our research, the technology in some of the nicer T5 fixtures was better. Also some of the T5 bulbs had longer life. This was really important to us because we had 40 ft overhead trusses to mount the lights to. It was a pain in the **** to ride the crane around and replace bulbs.

 

[fflintstone]

FYI this is what I am dealing with now.

 

[mark250]

Pick up the eight foot fixtures that take four bulbs. I started installing four bulb t8 fixtures in my building. There is plenty of light from the t8s.

 

[mark250]

MY shop is roughly 2500 square feet and I am planning on using t8 fixtures. They are the ones from Home Depot and are four bulb lights. Right now I have seven up and it is lighting the shop really nice. My ceiling height is 14'.